Local woman attends Westminster Abbey celebration of NHS 75th birthday

An NHS worker from Melksham attended a special service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate the 75th birthday of the National Health Service on 5th July.

Heather Cooper was nominated to attend by a co-worker.

The event was a tribute to the tireless efforts of healthcare workers across the nation, and was attended by their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, senior political leaders, health leaders and celebrities, together with around 1,500 NHS staff from across the country.

“It was an incredible honour to be chosen to go to the service and celebrate 75 years of the NHS,” Heather told Melksham News. “It was a privilege for me to be given the opportunity, but it’s important to say I was there representing lots of colleagues who work incredibly hard every day.

“It was a really lovely service, a real tribute to all the people who have been involved in the NHS from its beginning.

“We heard some really moving stories, including from two consultants who treated young cancer patients from the Ukrainian war; and from one of the first sickle cell nurses in the NHS; and from people who have received care from the NHS and from staff from the past 75 years. But not just that; we also heard about the innovation, the research and the work the NHS does in the community.

“The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were there, which was really lovely to get that acknowledgement, particularly this year.

“It was quite humbling and a fantastic tribute to the work that the NHS does.

“The NHS has changed in many ways since I joined 40 years ago but essentially it’s the same; when people are at their most vulnerable, the NHS is always there; you get the care you need.”

Heather, who lives in Beanacre, is Director for Urgent Care and Flow for NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board (ICB).

At the start of the service, the George Cross, awarded to the NHS in 2022 by Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was carried to the High Altar by May Parsons, the nurse who administered the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine. She was accompanied by Kyle Dean-Curtis, St John Ambulance cadet of the year, and Enid Richmond, who worked for the NHS when it was founded in 1948.

The address was given by Amanda Pritchard, Chief Executive of NHS England, who said of the health service, “We come together today not to celebrate an idea, but to celebrate all those who have breathed life into it, who have made it mean something real to tens of millions of people over three quarters of a century, and who continue to give us hope for the future.”

Prayers were read by Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay; Chief Nurse Dame Ruth May; NHS National Medical Director Professor Sir Stephen Powis; Chief Allied Health Professions Officer Prof Suzanne Rastick OBE; and Richard Webb-Stevens, a paramedic who was awarded the Queen’s Ambulance Medal for Distinguished Service for helping people after the Westminster Bridge terror attack.

Testimonies were given by Dame Elizabeth Anionwu OM – the UK’s first sickle cell nurse; Ellie Orton OBE, the Chief Executive, NHS Charities Together; and Dr Martin English and Dr Michael Griksaitis, NHS consultants, who jointly led a team who extracted 21 Ukrainian children with cancer over to the UK from Poland in March 2022, following the Russian invasion.